Moby Dick

Play trailer

Moby Dick

Released Jun 27, 1956

1h 56m

Adventure

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Capt. Ahab (Gregory Peck) has a vendetta against Moby Dick, the great white whale responsible for taking his leg. He sets out on a treacherous sea voyage aboard The Pequod, along with a crew including Starbuck (Leo Genn), Father Mapple (James Robertson Justice) and Ishmael (Richard Basehart), to hunt down the elusive beast. With reckless abandon, Ahab leads the crew on his obsessive and suicidal quest, anxious for a final showdown with the legendary white whale.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

It may favor spectacle in place of the deeper themes in Herman Melville's novel, but John Huston's Moby Dick still makes for a grand movie adventure.

Read Critics Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

One could have plenty of quarrels with this as an adaptation of the Herman Melville novel, but it's still one of the better John Huston films of the 50s.

Aug 5, 2011

Full Review

TIME Magazine

Moby Dick is certainly the most unusual picture of the year and may well be the best.

Aug 5, 2011

Full Review

Ian Nathan

Empire Magazine

The film takes flight as a grand chase movie, and leaves its ambition in its wake.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 5, 2011

Full Review

Francois Truffaut

Arts (France)

Too often, John Huston offers us, instead of creatures made of flesh and blood, only colorless beings who come onto the screen to deliver one or two aphorisms before going out of focus.

Feb 14, 2024

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Director John Huston and screenwriter Ray Bradbury teamed up (and feuded aplenty) to wrestle Herman Melville’s literary classic Moby-Dick to the screen, with results both fascinating and flawed.

Rated: 3/4

May 9, 2023

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…a neglected masterpiece…

Rated: 4/5

Dec 30, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Gurcharn B

Finest movie I’ve ever seen…

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/18/25

Full Review

Stewart F

It's cool to watch because of the historical relevance and fact you're watching the original. Lots of aspects of film making not as eye grabbing as today from back then and story more of a slow burner, but enjoyable and interesting.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/09/25

Full Review

Rick R

GOOD WRITTING, GOOD STORY, GOOD DIRECTOR, GOOD ACTING, A VERY ENTERTAINING MOVIE !!!!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

delysid d

as soon as i saw that gregory peck was the star of this film, i knew it would be great. and it was great.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/06/22

Full Review

Audience Member

An authentic adaptation of the novel. Uses direct quotes from the novel and keeps the original themes intact. Might get a bit fast or hammy sometimes.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A whale bites a guy's leg off, he gets really mad and can't forget about it. Gregory Peck provides his standard wooden performance. The whale is ok. Since almost no one has read this tedious tome, watching the movie is a relatively painless way of being exposed to a famous literary work.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

John Huston

Director

Gregory Peck

Captain Ahab

Richard Basehart

Ishmael

Leo Genn

Starbuck

James Robertson Justice

Captain Boomer

Harry Andrews

Stubb

The World in His Arms

100%

55%

The World in His Arms

Watchlist

Garden of Evil

86%

52%

Garden of Evil

Watchlist

Hell and High Water

80%

36%

Hell and High Water

Watchlist

The Crimson Pirate

100%

84%

The Crimson Pirate

Watchlist

The Old Man and the Sea

75%

67%

The Old Man and the Sea

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Morgan Freeman’s Five Favorite Films

Five Favorite Films with Morgan Freeman

Zombie Keeps Adding Bodies to His "Halloween" Cast

View more photos

Synopsis

Capt. Ahab (Gregory Peck) has a vendetta against Moby Dick, the great white whale responsible for taking his leg. He sets out on a treacherous sea voyage aboard The Pequod, along with a crew including Starbuck (Leo Genn), Father Mapple (James Robertson Justice) and Ishmael (Richard Basehart), to hunt down the elusive beast. With reckless abandon, Ahab leads the crew on his obsessive and suicidal quest, anxious for a final showdown with the legendary white whale.

Director: John Huston
Producer: John Huston
Screenwriter: Herman Melville, Ray Bradbury, John Huston
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures, United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co: Moulin Productions Inc.
Genre: Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 27, 1956, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 13, 2017
Runtime: 1h 56m

Most Popular at Home Now